The present invention relates to a device for processing a substrate. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for processing a substrate which is brought into a processing vessel using a substrate bringing member.
From the past, a device having an arrangement is proposed as a device for processing a substrate which arrangement is illustrated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 8-141526.
This drevice for processing a substrate has a first supposing member and a second supporting member. The first supporting member for supporting a substrate is provided in a fixed manner in an interior of a processing vessel. The second supporting member is movable. The second supporting member supports a substrate and brings the substrate in and out of the processing vessel.
When the device for processing a substrate having the above arrangement is employed, a substrate is brought in the processing vessel to a position using the second supporting member first, the substrate at the position being not in engage with the first supporting member. Under this condition, the substrate is processed by supplying processing fluid within the processing vessel. Then, the second supporting member is further moved so that the substrate is supported by the first supporting member. Under this condition, the substrate is processed by supplying processing fluid within the processing vessel.
When such processing is carried out for the substrate, the engagement sections of the substrate and the first supporting member and the engagement sections of the substrate and the second supporting member are processed well so that the entire surface of the substrate is processed uniformly.
When the device for processing a substrate having the arrangement is employed which arrangement is illustrated in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 8-141526, the intruding distance of the second supporting member within the processing vessel should be increased so that the substrate is automatically transferred to the first supporting member. Therefore, the substrate relatively moves with respect to the processing vessel when the substrate is transferred from the second supporting member to the first supporting member, so that the relative speed of the substrate and the processing fluid is changed. When the relative speed of the substrate and the processing fluid is changed, the processing degree by the processing fluid varies so that a disadvantage arises in that the processing quality of the substrate is lowered. This disadvantage remarkably appears when the substrate is dried while cleaning fluid is being discharged after the cleaning of the substrate has finished.
Further, when the substrate is transferred from the first supporting member to the second supporting member after the cleaning fluid has discharged, the cleaning fluid remains at portions of the substrate and the first supporting member at which portions the substrate and the first supporting member was contacted to one another. And, a great amount of nitrogen gas is necessary and a long time period is necessary for evaporating the remained cleaning fluid.
The present invention was made in view of the above problems.
It is an object of the present invention to offer a device for processing a substrate which device processes an entire surface of a substrate uniformly and prevents relative position of the substrate and a processing vessel during midway of the processing from varying.
A device for processing a substrate of claim 1 is a device which houses a substrate within a processing vessel and processes the substrate by supplying processing fluid within the processing vessel, the device comprises a first supporting member for supporting a substrate stably under a natural condition and for carrying out bringing of the substrate into and out from the processing vessel, and a movable second supporting member for receiving the substrate which is supported by the first supporting member and for supporting the substrate stably.
A device for processing a substrate of claim 2 further comprises control means for operating the first supporting member and the second supporting member when the substrate is transferred, so that relative movement of the substrate with respect to the processing vessel is prevented from occurrence.
A device for processing a substrate of claim 3 employs a supporting member which is united with a stream arrangement plate member as the second supporting member, the stream arrangement plate member supplying processing fluid having predetermined velocity distribution within the processing vessel from the lower position thereof.
When the device for processing a substrate of claim 1 is employed, and when a substrate is housed within the processing vessel and is processed by supplying the processing fluid within the processing vessel, the device comprises the first supporting member for supporting the substrate stably under a natural condition and for carrying out bringing of the substrate into and out from the processing vessel, and the movable second supporting member for receiving the substrate which is supported by the first supporting member and for supporting the substrate stably. Therefore, the substrate is stably supported under a natural condition by the first supporting member which brings the substrate into and out from the processing vessel, and the substrate is brought into the processing vessel by intruding the first supporting member into the processing vessel. Under this condition, the substrate is processed by supplying the processing fluid within the processing vessel. But, in this case, engagement sections of the substrate and the first supporting member are not processed. Next, the second supporting member is moved within the processing vessel so as to engage the second supporting member with the substrate, and the first supporting member is further intruded, so that the substrate is transferred from the first supporting member to the second supporting member. And, during the transferring operation of the substrate, the relative position of the substrate with respect to the processing vessel is maintained to be a constant position. When the substrate is processed by supplying the processing fluid within the processing vessel under the condition that the substrate is supported by the second supporting member, the engagement sections of the substrate and the first supporting member are processed. As a result, the entire surface of the substrate is uniformly processed. As is apparent from the foregoing description, the relative position of the substrate with respect to the processing vessel is maintained to be a constant position and the relative speed of the substrate with respect to the processing fluid is maintained to be a constant speed during the entire processing time period, therefore varying in processing is not generated so that the processing with high quality is realized.
When the device for processing a substrate of claim 2 is employed, though the device further comprises the control means for operating the first supporting member and the second supporting member when the substrate is transferred, so that relative movement of the substrate with respect to the processing vessel is prevented from occurrence, operations and effects which are similar to those of claim 1 are realized by operating both supporting members by the control means.
When the device for processing a substrate of claim 3 is employed, though the device employs a supporting member which is united with a stream arrangement plate member as the second supporting member, the stream arrangement plate member supplying processing fluid having predetermined velocity distribution within the processing vessel from the lower position thereof, the moving mechanism of the second supporting member and the attaching and detaching mechanism of the stream arrangement plate member are united in addition to the operations and effects of claim 1 or claim 2.